17 years… Holy Moses didn't find the way to come in France during 17 long years! But the amazing singer Sabina Classen (and by the way, the first woman who ever used to sing with an aggressive voice in Metal) and her band was in Paris this Sunday in the small club of La Maroquinerie. They weren't alone and three other bands were there to support them.

Elianor, the organizer of the event, always gives young Parisian combos the opportunity to play before big confirmed bands. The fist band of the night, Eye Of Emptiness, was a Death metal combo. Extremely brutal, their music is inspired by old School Death and brutal music. The performance of the combo wasn't uninteresting even if they didn't move a lot and were not very communicative with the audience. I didn't know the band before the show and never had the chance to listen to them via a CD so I cannot talk a lot about their performance but they apparently convinced the Death Metal listeners of the night.

The second band was actually a band of young teenagers and it was their first real show ever. Chaos Theory played a mix of Melodic Death Metal and Hardcore (?) with a screamer as a singer. To be honest, it was a fucking mess (lol), it's obvious that our guys will have to play again and again to produce a great show, but you know what, it was really cool to see them. First a lot of people were there to support them and we had a lot of ambiance in the venue but also, it was just extremely pleasant and tender to watch these new young Metalheads. Of course, they will have to work but, without any doubt, their first show was a good moment!

After the two previous bands, I experienced the great return of… No Return. I saw this band in 2001 with their old line up and I totally lost them… I will be honest one more time, I regret it and I'm convinced now that it was a mistake. Actually, No Return was great and better than ever… Their drummer was a machine (really, he is one of the most impressive drummers that I have ever seen) and their new singer was damnly charismatic. Their set was composed of old and new songs and the few people who were in the pit even found the way to mosh and slam like some crazy Metalheads… The show was really good, it was a perfect moment and I was happy to see that this band was not dead yet. If some labels interested in Death Metal want to sign someone, they just have to check the last album of this French combo. I'm sure that a lot of people could have a great surprise.

Finally the charismatic and beautiful Sabina was on stage. Holy Moses simply kicked our asses with their "in your face" aggressive Thrash Metal. With a lot of catchy melodies and powerful riffs, the band managed to do a show that the few Metalheads who were there to see them will probably never forget. Sabina did a great show full of charisma and her voice and "self energy" were extremely powerful. In this small venue, with not a lot of people it was a really cool intimate show and I hope that the band will have the luck to come in France again and that this time, you'll be there with the ones who were there tonight and who will come back again (me the first) to see this great cult Thrash combo. If they come to your town, don't miss them and please support this great band.

It was a real event to have this cult Thrash band in Paris and unfortunately not a lot of Parisians found the way to come there… (it's sad really…where were you all?). The ones who weren't there with us, just missed something… Even Peter Sandoval (yes! The real one!!!) who was in holiday in Paris this week end was at La Maroquinerie to see Holy Moses so I suppose that you can understand that, despite the small audience, it was a real event. I had a great time this night, I will remember this show and for sure I will be there when Holy Moses will be back in Paris…

One more time, a lot of thx to Flo, Nan, Olivier and Elianor for the press accreditation!

As for Sabina Classen being the first woman to sing aggresively in metal is debatable. She only started singing aggresively somewhere around 1984, the same time Dawn Crosby popped pu in Detente.
But an incredible voice Sabina did have and those first couple of Holy Moses albums were truly good, it's shame that they aren't even a shadow of what they once were.

No Return? I didn't know they were still around. I saw all the way back in 1991 supporting Exhorder on their tour. And to be perfectly honest No Return didn't convince me at all at the time. So I was never interested in them. Nice enough guys, but totally uninteresting thrash (back then?)

I guess it is the same, since No Return is quite old for a French metal band and was known as a thrash metal band at the time. I also tend to agree with Ozman, since at that time they weren't that original - yet still good. I much prefer their last album to their first, but that's a personal opinion.